The present invention relates to a makeup case and, in particular, to a small makeup case that can be placed in a handbag.
Makeup cases traditionally carry only trays of makeup, a mirror, and brushes or pads for application of the makeup. A separate container is usually required for types of makeup or personal toiletry items that are not placed in trays. Therefore, an individual is often forced to carry a makeup compact, a lipstick case, eyebrow pencils, lip liners, mascara and perfume, all as separate items. These items are easily lost and are difficult to locate and use if placed in a handbag.
Various proposals have been made to overcome these problems and place numerous makeup and toiletry items in a single, small container. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,053 (“the '053 patent”) discloses a makeup compact that contains trays of makeup, application brushes, and tubes of lipsticks, cover sticks and makeup pencils. However, the '053 patent requires a cover to retain the tubes in their cavities. The presence of the cover presents several disadvantages.
First, the cover renders the compact somewhat inconvenient to use because the cover must be removed or the hinged top opened to access the tubes, regardless of whether or not the user wishes to access the other parts of the compact, such as the trays and mirror.
Second, the makeup case of the '053 patent provides no easy way to know which tube contains what makeup or toiletry. A user must either guess and check tubes repeatedly to find the correct one, always keep the tubes in a particular order, or attempt to make some sort of identification mark in the very limited space on the ends of the tubes. None of these methods are practical.
Third, and most significantly, if the cover opens, there is nothing to prevent the tubes from leaving the case. If the cover comes off or the hinged top comes open, an easily imaginable event in a handbag, the tubes may become scattered throughout the bag. They might also break or smear cosmetics on other articles in the bag, causing damages to those articles or to the bag itself. The tubes might also fall out while the cover is open during use, which would present a nuisance and may result in loss of the cosmetics. It would be preferable in many situations to loosen and access only one tube at a time.